MANEC was conceived at the beginning of the Track Two program as the
Virtual Agriculture Wholesale Market (VAWM). The project is implemented locally by The
International Centre for Human Development (ICHD) in Armenia and the Turkish Armenian
Business Development Council (TABDC) in Turkey. Because a good portion of the Caucasus
region relies on subsistence farming for food and income VAWM was seen as a way to
give local farmers and ranchers more opportunity for marketing and selling their
produce, meat, and other value added products to other areas of the region. Simply,
it is believed that by providing other opportunities for trade, new and lasting
relationships will be built among the conflicting parties through their common
business interests.
 At the center of VAWM was an online domain and database where a
continuously growing variety of agricultural products are listed and updated. This
listing provided detailed information about agricultural products in a country-specific
format. The database was available to the general public via the internet and displays
detailed product information that includes product type, grade, location, price and
transportation or delivery options.
Upon finding one or more products or service they are interested in,
visitors to the website could make an offer to buy or learn more specific details
through an inquiry to VAWM, via telephone, fax, email or an online form. These
inquiries were received by VAWM regional offices who then contact the associated
producer. If the inquiry was regarding a purchase and the producer was interested,
VAWM made the connection between buyer and seller to complete the transaction. The
information listed on the VAWM websites was collected directly from local producers
by VAWM regional representatives with offices in Gyumri and Lori, Armenia and Kars
and Erzurum, Turkey. These representatives visited producers individually and recorded
as much detailed information as possible about the products they could offer to sell
on a standardized form. The collected information was then uploaded to the website at
the regional office and made available for display and inquiry instantaneously. The
online information received regular updates as regional representatives made regular
visits to talk with each producer.
 As a separate process apart from the technology, VAWM was successful
in hosting its first Agricultural Fair in Gyumri, Armenia in October of 2002. This
fair brought together farmers, wholesalers, and processors from Turkey, Armenia, and
Georgia. Participants had the opportunity to learn how to better market their goods
and services, sell their products, and meet and learn more about their counterparts in
neighboring countries. The event was especially highlighted by a dinner that hosted
ICHD, TABDC, representatives from Guymri, Armenia and Turkish farmers from Kars and
Erzrum. The event saw Turkish and Armenian farmers dancing together for the first time
in as long as anyone could remember.
A short time after the trade fair, a planning meeting was held in to
review the successes and challenges of the project. The results of the meeting were
significant and underscore how much trust had been created between the partners after
only a year of working together. Most notably, the partners decided the project should
move beyond a purely agricultural offering to include products from other sectors of
the economy. With this shift, the project changed its name to the Marketing Network
of the Caucasus and purchased the domain name http://www.manec.com.
After a complete review of current business practices, several
changes were made in the collection, updating, and display of product information and
the team agreed to develop a comprehensive training program for producers. It was
hoped that providing training about business practices, technology, marketing, and
other essential small business topics would stem misinformation about the program and
encourage its growth.
 In addition, it was agreed that the website should do much more than display product
information and process inquiries. Examples of new uses included weather information,
exchange rates, services directories, regional and industry specific news, and
moderated discussion boards.
Today, MANEC continues to provide the core services of connecting local producers
with a greater market presence and promoting cross border cooperation within the
Southern Caucasus region. However, after two years of online operation, the project
partners have made the decision to shift from a B2C (business to consumer) model to
a B2B (buiness to business model) model. It is hoped that this new model will
stimulate more interest in the service and provide a form for the creation of a true
Caucasian business association of some type.
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